Category
Textual or Investigative
Description
World War II changed everything when it came to American submarine warfare. Before the war, American naval leaders and planners debated over what the purpose of their submarine fleet should be. The more progressive thinkers claimed the submarine would be in-of-itself a decisive combat asset, while the conservative naval minds saw their “fleet boats” as supplementary to the main battle line. When the war ended, the debate was no longer about what role the submarine would play in the great game on the sea. In the Atlantic, the German U-boat fleet of 1,131 submarines would sink 14,878,463 tons of Allied shipping, costing the Allies 22% of their merchant fleet. In the Pacific, the United States Navy submarine fleet of 263 vessels sank 5,583,400 tons of Axis shipping amounting to a devastating 55% loss for the Japanese. Now the debate became how to increase the capabilities of the American submarine fleet. Though new types of submarines would be designed for new missions with new capabilities, the Navy through the Greater Underwater Propulsion and Power Program (GUPPY) would use their fleet-type submarines not only to bolster their combat potential in the coming Cold War, but also to test concepts and ideas that would carry over into the nuclear fleet.
GUPPY: From Fleet Boat to Modern Submarine
Textual or Investigative
World War II changed everything when it came to American submarine warfare. Before the war, American naval leaders and planners debated over what the purpose of their submarine fleet should be. The more progressive thinkers claimed the submarine would be in-of-itself a decisive combat asset, while the conservative naval minds saw their “fleet boats” as supplementary to the main battle line. When the war ended, the debate was no longer about what role the submarine would play in the great game on the sea. In the Atlantic, the German U-boat fleet of 1,131 submarines would sink 14,878,463 tons of Allied shipping, costing the Allies 22% of their merchant fleet. In the Pacific, the United States Navy submarine fleet of 263 vessels sank 5,583,400 tons of Axis shipping amounting to a devastating 55% loss for the Japanese. Now the debate became how to increase the capabilities of the American submarine fleet. Though new types of submarines would be designed for new missions with new capabilities, the Navy through the Greater Underwater Propulsion and Power Program (GUPPY) would use their fleet-type submarines not only to bolster their combat potential in the coming Cold War, but also to test concepts and ideas that would carry over into the nuclear fleet.
